At Odds
by FountainOfPens
Summary: Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy are always at odds-he thinks she's stuffy, and she is disgusted by his constant philandering and annoyed by his flippancy. But is there more to their emotions than simple animosity? Rated T to be safe.
1. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or the books in any way. The idea for the plot is mine, but that's it.

The title of this piece is _At Odds_, and centers on Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy and Rose Weasley. There is some swearing and probably much blatant lusting on Scorpius' part. If either of these things puts you off, then don't read it, obviously. And if you don't like the pairing, it's not worth mentioning to me, unless you want to request a story of a different pairing from me.

Now that I'm done intimidating you and telling you how my story will pollute your little mind—please enjoy it! I would love to get some reviews. I'm aware that there are a few sentences that don't run as smoothly as I'd like them to, or places in which I repeat words, but I wrote the first two chapters quite quickly and was so excited about them that I forgot to check them more thoroughly. That aside, I hope you like the piece.

-Elena


	2. Chapter 1: Arguments

**Rose**

I was studying for my O.W.L.s, as usual. Defense Against the Dark Arts this time, Uncle Harry's favorite subject. I sighed as I read over my notes for the hundredth time that week. I was trying to focus, really I was, but I slowly came to the realization that I was bored to tears, and closed the book. Carefully checking for the librarian, I laid my head on top of the book and closed my eyes. I hadn't slept well the night before, and I figured that I'd only nap for a minute…

"Oh my god! Do we have a photographer in the house? It looks like Rose Weasley's napping on the job!"

I opened my bright blue eyes to stare into the cold gray pair belonging to one Scorpius Malfoy. "Bugger off, Star Boy, I was up late last night," I said irritably.

"Oh?" Scorpius plopped his ass onto the desk, making sure I got a good view. "And I suppose that's your excuse for setting a bad example, Rose? Cursing in front of first years, for shame," he said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes. "_Please_ go die. I have better things to do than waste minutes of my life with you."

I saw something flash in his eyes. _Hmm. Odd. We're always like this, and I'm sure both of us have said worse. Why should that affect him?_ "Oh really. Well, I'll take your word for it. _Sleeping_ has been known to be conducive to good study habits."

I glared at him. "Really? Because I've heard the same about shagging anything that walks."

He flinched, and I smirked, thinking, _Rose Weasley: one, Scorpius Malfoy: zero._ I thought he was going to leave, because he got off the desk, but he turned and said, "You know, Rose, it really is. Shagging, I mean. Perhaps that's why, no matter how you study, I always beat you at Potions: _no one_ would ever shag you."

That stung. "You'll take that back when your habits finally catch up with you and you contract some disfiguring venereal disease from some tramp!" I snapped back at him. Anyone else would have thought that I'd gone too far.

Scorpius Malfoy just laughed and said, "I'm a wizard. I don't _get_ venereal disease."

"What if you did? Well, I'll tell you what would happen if you did. You'd die, because you wouldn't know how to cure it, because you're failing Herbology!" I shot back.

"I'm not _failing_, per se. Just as you're not failing Potions."

"You know, Scorpius, it might do you some good to grow a brain so you can think of a _new_ barb," I said nastily.

"Mr. Malfoy! Ms. Weasley!" The librarian's angry screech brought both of our gazes to hers. She was marching towards us from the other side of the room. We had obviously been quite loud. Then Scorpius and I looked at each other.

"I figure this time we're in for detention. It's been the third time this week," Scorpius said.

"Should we run?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely. And I know just the place to go." He turned his eyes back to the librarian. I gathered my books and hurriedly shoved them in my bag. "Okay, on three. One, two—three!" Scorpius grabbed my hand and we were out of there.

We dashed up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and went down various hallways. We stopped at the Room of Requirement, whose door opened easily to Scorpius' touch. This time the room was bare except for two plush armchairs sitting across from each other, one red and one green, and a tasteful rug portraying a lion and a snake in the middle of combat. Scorpius let go of my hand and we collapsed into the chairs.

I closed my eyes, panting. I heard Scorpius doing the same in his seat. Suddenly, I heard a weak laugh. I opened my eyes. "What?"

"Look at the chair you're sitting in." I did, and realized that it was deepest emerald instead of blood crimson. I stared for a while, then started giggling uncontrollably. To my surprise, instead of a weird look or a cutting remark, Scorpius laughed too. Once we'd caught our breath, he said, "That was bloody brilliant."

"I know. But we're prefects, we shouldn't…"

"Oh, have some fun once in a while, will you?"

I bit back a reply along the lines of "Well, _you_ have too _much_ fun," although it was true. Scorpius and I had both become prefects this year, but to my mind, I was far superior. After all, Scorpius was late to all the meetings, and once he came in, he was ridiculously immature, peppering any conversation with "that's what she said!" and the like. Never mind the fact that his platinum blond hair was mussed and his shirttails out, his eyes glassy and his lips swollen, which somehow caused me to get ten times more annoyed at him—he was a complete git. _And_ he missed his duties routinely, and somehow I always had to cover for him. Not that he ever appreciated it, oh no. Scorpius Malfoy was going to show up late to his duties with no more explanation than his disheveled appearance without so much as a grateful look until the end of time.

"Rose," said Scorpius insistently.

"What?"

"I…" he looked pained. "I didn't mean what I said before. About no one wanting to shag you. I mean, you're—you're all right."

I laughed, but there was a bitter tang to the sound. "I'm flattered by your eloquent praise, Star Boy." I sighed. "But I accept your apology. And… I probably shouldn't have said… _a lot_ of the things I said back there," I said, going a bit red.

Scorpius waved a hand. "I'll live. That one about wasting minutes of your life with me was particularly scathing, however."

"Yeah, I—I shouldn't have said it. After all, if you hadn't been there, I would have fallen into the dread clutches of the librarian," I said, smiling.

Scorpius smirked, raising his eyebrows. "If I hadn't been there, we wouldn't have fought in the first place."

I shrugged. "C'est la vie."

"Ooh, French. Hot, Rosie." Scorpius' gray eyes were laughing, but they'd lost that awful mocking glint.

I just rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "Don't you ever turn yourself off?"

"Turn myself off? What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

I sighed, twirling a piece of auburn hair introspectively. "I mean, you always—well, to be frank, you act like you've the libido of a rabbit."

Scorpius blinked. "What the—a _rabbit_?"

"Yeah, you know—they breed like rabbits?" I said, quoting the expression. I felt a bit ridiculous. It was a weird analogy.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "You know, I'm not surprised you're Hermione Granger's daughter. And I _have_ got the libido of a rabbit. It's painful," he said, making puppy eyes, "I have to make sure I have a good shag at least four times a—"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it! Ugh, you're unimaginably disgusting," I cried.

"I was going to say month."

"That's once a week, you man-whore."

"I won't deny it."

I shared an exasperated look with the ceiling. Then my eyes snapped back to Scorpius's face. "You never answered my question. Do you ever turn yourself off?"

"Isn't that rhetorical?"

"Now it isn't," I said triumphantly.

Scorpius shifted, uncomfortable. "Well, I—mostly when I'm with you."

I wasn't surprised at the answer, really—just surprised at how awkward he seemed to feel. "Well, we _are_ fighting ninety percent of the time. I'd imagine that you wouldn't want to flirt with me while I'm calling you a man-whore. It'd just prove my point," I joked, trying to put him at ease.

He gave a barely perceptible swallow. "Yeah, guess you're right. Um, I've got to go to class, and I imagine you do as well." He brushed off his robes. "Be seeing you, Weasley."

"See you around, Malfoy," I rejoined simply, surprised.


	3. Chapter 2: Mi Arbol es Su Arbol

**Scorpius**

It had been an irritating day. I wasn't even sure why, but some small part of me muttered something about _her_ not being at Potions today. I brushed it off. I was walking towards Hogwarts Lake, where I would sit in my favorite tree and be alone, damn it.

But of course the Weasley girl was there to mess it up. There she was, sitting with all the audacity that loosely curled red hair and those blue eyes and those _curves_ whose origins I could but guess at could muster, in my tree. _Don't drool, Scorpius, it looks bad on you_, I thought sardonically, _And anyway, what do you care about Weasley?_ I walked boldly up to the tree and tugged on her slender, bare foot, for lack of a better way to get her attention, of course.

"What the bloody—" she leaned over and I had to remind myself not to drool again. She was wearing a peach tank top and slant-hemmed green skirt. Of course, I only noticed the top. _Damn, has she filled out! I mean—er—what disgusting Weasley freckles._

"You know, if you stopped wearing those bloody robes all the time, I wouldn't be the only guy that talks to you who's not related."

She rolled her eyes and snapped, "What do you want, Scorpius?"

_You, you, you, damn it all!_ I sighed. _No point in even attempting to deny it any longer. It's easy when she's not in front of me. But even when she's arguing with me these days, even when there's hatred and venom dripping from every word exiting our lips, I still want to lick the venom off of hers, though I know it'll kill me._ I smirked slightly. _Melodramatic much, Malfoy?_ I can imagine her voice, which is a little disconcerting, since she's right in front of me. "You're in my bloody tree, Weasley."

"It's not _your_ bloody tree, you entitled prat!"

"Actually, it is. Ask anyone. I come here at least once a week."

She smiled sardonically. "Define 'come' in this context, Malfoy."

I swear, I wanted to kiss her so badly right then. "Naughty, naughty, Weasley," I said with an easy smirk, "I've always liked a girl who could talk dirty."

She blushed and said, "You've always liked a girl, period."

I tugged on her foot again. "That's not true. Just because I fuck someone doesn't mean I like them."

That elicited a reaction I wasn't prepared for. Rose's face hardened and she jerked her foot away from me, sending me sprawling onto the grass. "You're disgusting."

"Hey, Rose…" I wanted to grab that foot again, if only to touch her, but I didn't for fear of personal safety. "I didn't mean it. You know that."

She sighed, dangling her foot again. "It's hard to tell with you, Malfoy."

"Call me Scorpius, won't you?" I touched her calf tentatively.

She looked down at me with a devilish grin. "No." And carried on reading, just letting me stand there stupidly, holding onto her foot. _Since when can Weasley play hard to get?_

After about twenty minutes, I cracked and asked, "You figure there's room up there, Weasley?"

"I figure you're going out of your mind if you actually _want_ to sit near me. However, there's a bit of space." That hurt, even though I knew she was right—I was going insane, no doubt about it—but the pain was dispelled when she obligingly moved a few inches. I clambered up next to her. We sat, if not companionably, then at least tolerably, until she spoke again: "Do you plan on just sitting there, Scorpius?"

"Depends on the chances of you calling me by my first name again."

"Oh, well, for _that_ you'd have to sit here a thousand years," she said, but she was smiling.

"I would, too." I blurted, but of course, thanks to my Malfoy charm, it sounded entirely intentional.

Rose looked at me, staring searchingly into my eyes. Fine with me, since it meant I could stare into hers uninhibited. "What's been up with you lately?"

"Absolutely nothing. Rabbit libido, remember?" I said, my breathing speeding up a bit as I realized I could kiss her, right now. And she couldn't do anything about it without falling out of the tree. _Knowing her, though, she probably would rather fall out of a tree than kiss me,_ I thought. It was depressing, but it was funny too, so I smiled.

"No, but you must be really desperate, because if I'm not imagining it, you've been hitting on _me_ too."

I scoffed. "You're imagining it, Weasley. And even if you weren't—well, so what if I was?"

She frowned. "If you were, I'd be seriously worried as to the state of your mental health."

"Oh, you're not all that bad, Rose." _Looking delectable today, too._

She rolled her eyes. "That wasn't really the point, Scorpius."

"So it was a dig at me?"

"Well, no… I mean, it'd just… it'd be weird, wouldn't it? What with my cousin being your best friend. And then the matter of us being of different houses. And then our parents…" Rose shook her head. "This is really awkward. Just forget about it."

"It is quite awkward. Almost too awkward for me to use as insult fodder later on." This earned me a whack on the arm. "_Ouch_," I said pointedly.

"Your fault."

I muttered something about it being unfair, it was _my_ damn tree, and she'd no right to be trying to hit me out of it. "So why were you absent for Potions?"

"Had a stomachache."

"Glad you're better."

She smiled. "Curious, Malfoy. Now you're making me suspicious."

"What, I can't be glad you're better?"

"No. If I'm not at Potions, I can't tell you whatever you're doing is wrong."

"But you're usually wrong about _that_."

"Well, there you go."

Just then, the cousin she had mentioned not five minutes ago appeared beneath the tree. "Christ, Scor, there you are! I thought you'd learned to Apparate early," said Albus Severus Potter, smiling up at me.

I smiled. "Who says I haven't?"

However, Al wasn't looking at me, but at his redheaded cousin. "Rosie? Is that _you_ sitting in a tree with my best friend, who also happens to be your worst enemy?"

"Actually, I'm Godric Gryffindor in disguise, but close enough," Rose replied sarcastically, turning a page.

Al stared up at us wide-eyed. "But—shouldn't one of you be strangling the other by now?"

I waved a hand in mock dismissal. "Too much work."

"Take too long. He's got a whole head full of air."

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't keep back a grin. Rose wore a small triumphant smirk of her own.

"Why are you two being civil to each other? Has the world turned upside down?"

"No, but you'll be if you don't shut up," Rose said airily. Her eyes hadn't left her book during the whole conversation, I realized, and smiled. _Typical Weasley._

"Anyway, Scor, I want to steal my dad's cloak from James and go cause trouble."

I looked at Rose, who surprisingly looked back up at me. She smiled, and maybe it was a trick of the light, but it seemed as though a ray of sun flashed across her face, illuminating it with a blinding brilliance. "Go scare some Hufflepuffs," she murmured diplomatically, and went back to reading. I climbed down and swore to myself I'd take pictures of their frightened little faces to share with her.


	4. Chapter 3: Tutor

**Rose**

It was time for prefect duty again. I was paired with guess who, and waiting for him outside the Slytherin common room. I wished fervently that I'd had Potions with him today, so that I could have negotiated this. But I hadn't seen or heard hide or hair of him save for the note this morning dooming me to this probably fruitless vigil. I cast a time-checking spell and sighed. Late. Fifteen minutes late. And knowing him, it'd probably end up being thirty.

I moaned loudly and whacked my hand against the hard stone wall. Why was it that the Head Boy and Girl seemed so intent on thrusting us together? At best, we wouldn't argue too often. At worst, it could become the kind of screaming match we were supposed to be berating others for having. Perhaps I'd done something to one of them—pissed them off or something, though I couldn't see how. I kept my complaints re being paired with Scorpius Malfoy for prefect duty to myself.

Well, mostly to myself. When I saw a head of sleek white-blond hair significantly taller than mine turn a corner, I went dashing after it and grabbed the robes of the person it belonged to. "Merlin help you, Scorpius Malfoy, if you don't have a good reason for sneaking about fifteen minutes after you were supposed to meet me for prefect duty," I hissed in the general area of his ear.

I could _feel_ the languorous smile spreading across that git's face. "Dear Rose, don't get so upset. It's just that I happen to find several things more interesting than prefect duty, and sometimes I get… caught up in them."

I spun him around, enraged. "_You_ will get caught up in fucking _Filch's dungeon_ if you are late _one more time_! I am sick of this shit! You have me wait outside your damn common room, getting looks right and left and sneers up and down, and then you go off pretending like you don't even _see_ me rotting out there—"

"I didn't see you."

"Oh, who gives a _shit_, Malfoy? You were obviously off to go debauch or something. You are unappreciative, irresponsible, and I don't understand why in hell you are a prefect," I fumed, tugging a loose red curl behind my ear.

Malfoy stood there and took it. It was the weirdest experience of my life. When I was finished, there was a silence. He didn't say anything, didn't look up. "Well? Are you going to explain yourself?" I asked impatiently. "Or can we go?" He didn't talk, so I started to walk. In two long strides he had caught up with me. It seemed like he still wanted to say something, so I waited.

Finally he sighed. "I'm not going to explain myself, Rose," he said quietly, "but I will make it up to you."

It was kind of an apology, but I couldn't stop myself from replying sarcastically, "Oh, and how would you do that? Take all my prefect shifts for the rest of the year? That'd be the fair way of doing it."

"I'm serious, Rose. I'll find a way. If that's what you want me to do, I'll do it."

I rubbed my temples. All of a sudden I had a splitting headache. _First he comes off all nonchalant. Then I scream at him, and he's like a puppy with a tail between his legs. Then he decides he's the chivalrous knight fallen from grace. This is just ridiculous._ "You are so confusing. Since when do you give a damn how I feel?" I tugged at my hair sullenly as we walked down the hall, aware that I probably shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth and that this reaction would probably frustrate him out of his previous kindness. But I didn't care. There was some subconscious part of me that didn't _want_ Scorpius Malfoy to be nice to me, if only because I wouldn't be sure of the implications of that, and the ones I could guess at were… undesirable, to say the least.

"Well, you seemed really upset."

"Well, who wouldn't be? It's frustrating. You know, it just—I mean, sometimes it seems you don't take anything seriously."

"That depends on the day of the week," he teased. "But I take my schoolwork seriously, don't I? I'm about even with you."

"Only because of bloody Potions."

I looked up at him, because he'd suddenly gone silent. There was a strange new light in his gray eyes and he said, "That's it."

"What's it?" I said uncertainly.

"I'll tutor you in Potions to make up for being late."

"Oh no, Malfoy. I don't trust you. I think you've got to have some kind of weird ulterior motive that's going to bite me in the ass."

"Let's check the library. Someone's always snooping about in there."

"So you do have an ulterior motive."

"No. I just think we should check the library."

I shook my head. "_I_ think you're mad. But we can go check the library." I sighed. "So this tutoring in Potions… I mean, what would it entail?"

"It would entail me revealing the mysterious world of Potions and allowing you to—"

"Mostly I meant where, you idiot. Obviously not in either of our common rooms."

"My room?"

I rolled my eyes. "May you die a slow and painful death. No."

Scorpius laughed. "Hey, what's with the death threat?"

"Whatever you may say about me, I'm not stupid. What would people think?"

"About me tutoring you?"

"About me traipsing up to your room on a 'study date.' The only thing that would be missing would be the giggling and hand-holding." I said dryly.

"That's not true. And I assure you, my intentions are of the absolute purest nature. I merely wish to edify you in the noble arts of—"

"There are three problems with what you just said. The first problem is that the first statement is an irrefutable lie. Or, if it's not a lie, it's a display of startling naïveté. No one is invited into the room of the school stud and _studies_. The second problem is that the second statement is quite probably also untrue. Malfoys are like onions—they're layered. There is never just one motivation, just one random action. You all plan things very carefully."

Scorpius laughed. "Oh? And what would my motive be this time?"

"I have no idea, and that's what scares me the most. Anyway, the third problem is that your speech got really fucking flowery just then, and that almost certainly means that you're lying."

"You're saying my speech gets poetic when I lie?" The bright look of amusement on his face came dangerously close to jellifying my lower body. I bit my lip and kicked myself. _Jesus, Rose. What's gotten into you?_

"Yes, absolutely," I answered. "Like when you lied the first time about why you were late to the prefects' meeting. Personally, I think it was stupid of them to ask where you were; it happened to be blatantly obvious to me."

To my surprise, he blushed. "Yes, well. It's the Malfoy charm."

I smiled and couldn't resist teasing, "In which instance?"

Scorpius grinned back at me. "Both."

"I knew you would say that."

We entered the library, looking about for misbehaving children in companionable silence. When it was evident that no one was in there, or at least that they were damn good at hiding, Scorpius said, "So you still haven't said yes to being tutored by me."

"You act like there's not another answer."

"There isn't. Look, Rose, you're barely managing an E average. You fail these O.W.L.s…"

"I won't!"

"I know you won't," he said soothingly, stroking my cheek so lightly I wasn't even certain that he'd done it, "but wouldn't you rather be sure?"

_Yes_, I thought, fighting to keep my hand by my side, _I want to be sure what you're feeling about me. You just touched my fucking cheek! More than that, I want to be sure what I feel about _you_. I should be angry, not wanting more. You're being forward! I hate it when you're forward! Don't I?_ I sighed. "Yes. Fine. Whatever."

Scorpius' grin flashed brilliantly across his features. "Great. So my room?"

"I told you, no. The library, you rabbit."

His laugh rung through the empty library, echoing in my heart hours after we'd left.


	5. Chapter 4: First Lesson

**Scorpius**

It felt like the switch back from Daylight Savings Time the day I was to tutor Rose, only ten times worse. The clock moved so slowly that each hour-long class seemed to take an age. I had wanted to talk to Rose during Potions, but Everell, the Potions Master, was in a bad mood, so it was "Study, damn it! You should be grateful, O.W.L.s are coming up," and "Be quiet _right_ now, Mr. Malfoy!" This morning we had decided to meet in the library at eight.

Everell could stop me from actively disrupting the class, but he couldn't stop me from staring at Rose. Her hair was bound away from her face in a high ponytail, a few errant strands framing her pale, intensely focused face. That is, intensely focused until she looked up at me. _What?_ She mouthed.

_I miss you_, I mouthed back.

She rolled her eyes. _Do your work._ I smiled. I could just feel the unsaid "useless prat" tacked onto the phrase. She didn't look up at me again, which was irritating because I did not feel that I needed to study for this class, and that my time could be more profitably spent if those lovely blue eyes just met mine once more. I knew that I probably shouldn't distract her either, but that was a secondary issue.

The rest of the day, I was bored out of my mind. It seemed like the only purpose for my getting up this morning was to tutor and possibly flirt with Rose.

I sighed. That was going to be… difficult. Especially seeing as I'd told her she was imagining it when she broached the subject three days ago in my tree. I put my head in my hands. Why had I said that, anyway? _For someone at the top of his class, at least in his House, I seem to say a lot of stupid shit,_ I thought. But I did know why I had said it, really—the Malfoys were supposed to be unflappable. We didn't _love_ a person, we _manipulated_ them. We certainly didn't _flirt_, oh no. We were supposed to recline on our divans and just gesture at whatever woman we preferred: "Come."

But I wasn't going to be able to keep my new feelings for Rose inside for long. That just wasn't my way. I had once laughingly described myself to Isabella Zabini as being an inkwell in the middle of an earthquake emotionally—I couldn't help but spill my feelings all over the place. Oh, sure, I was a master of subtlety when I wanted to be, but when it had to do with something I really _felt_…

I sighed. _Slow the fuck down. You've only got an hour until she comes._ I had barely done any of my homework. When I finally stopped thinking about Rose long enough to realize this, I jumped out of my skin and started buckling down. I made sure to do Potions first, so that I'd have my homework as a kind of answer sheet for hers.

At about fifteen minutes to eight, I set out for the library. I had just about everything I'd ever written for Potions in my bag, from notes to homework and everything in between. I stopped just outside, taking a deep breath. _Come on, Scorpius. You're unflappable. You can have any girl you want._ I smiled. _Let's go._

Just as I was putting my hand on the doorknob, Rose Weasley flung the door wide and murmured, "You're late again, Malfoy."

I grinned at her. "Hope the anticipation didn't kill you."

"Anticipation? Do you even _see_ how many weird looks we're getting? Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"All soft and 'you're so funny, Rose.' Now come on. I want to get this over with."

"Where are we sitting?" She led me to a table at the very back of the library. I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Weasley. Can't be that bad to be seen with me, can it?"

"It can. Someone asked me who I was waiting for while I was checking for you at the door, and when I told them, they asked whether I was fucking you."

"That isn't a problem."

She whacked me. "Just make with the fucking Potions skills, Malfoy." But she was smiling.

I sighed. "Okay, so I would have a better idea of how to do this if I knew what exactly your problem with Potions was."

Rose thought a moment, leaning her cheek against her hand. I recalled a certain line in _Romeo and Juliet_, something along the lines of Romeo wanting to become a glove so he could touch Juliet's cheek. For the first time in my life, I sympathized. "Well," she said finally, deliberately, "I just—I don't like the dodgy language they use when they're naming ingredients. It's all silly riddles that only make sense if you delve into arcane texts."

I was shaking my head before she even finished. "No, Rose, the dodgy language is what's interesting about it. And you just have to know certain things about the ingredients to decode them. Like… here. This was last Friday's potion that we had to memorize. Can you tell me what the first ingredient is?"

Rose frowned, leaning closer to me so that she could see the paper. I was tempted to draw it even further away, but kept myself in check. "Um… it says 'season's yield of seven waters.' A teaspoon."

"Okay, I'll give you a hint. What type of body of water is typically said to number seven?"

"What?"

I sighed, slightly annoyed. _She's so smart, why doesn't she get this?_ I forced myself to be patient. "Think about it, Rose. Seven—bodies of water."

Her eyes lit. "Seven _seas_!"

I smiled. "Right."

The light from her eyes faded as she said, "But… season's yield of seven seas?"

"Ah," I said with a knowing smile, "but what if the word season didn't mean fall and winter?"

"But… I mean, the only other meaning is basically 'a condiment,' right?"

"Yes. So what kind of seasoning do you get from the sea?"

Her eyes went wide. "Oh my fucking god," she said, hitting the table with the flat of her hand. "Oh my fucking god! That's so—that's so dumb!"

I laughed. "So you think you have it?"

"It's sea salt, isn't it? One teaspoon of sea salt."

I hugged her quickly. It was a little awkward, but hey, it was something. "Exactly right."

We went on to decipher the rest of the ingredients, and then the homework we'd been given earlier today. Rose improved splendidly, and by the time we'd spent an hour, she was starting to work out the ingredients herself, only having to ask me less than five times per list. At nine-thirty, we decided to end our little session.

We had started packing up when Rose said, "So Potions is all about thinking in a slightly skewed way, right? I mean, obviously it's about mixing stuff up and whatever, but the ingredients part of it…"

I cocked my head, thinking about it, then smiled a bit. "Yeah. Yeah," I said, "it just takes a little imagination and the proper knowledge."

Rose nodded slowly. She had finished putting everything away, and to my surprise waited for me, even going so far as to help me. We walked to the door in silence, and down the hall. At the end of the hall, we'd part.

"Scorpius?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. You're a good teacher, when you get over yourself."

"I'm honored, Rose. Really." She laughed. When we got to the end of the hall, we stopped, studying each other for a moment.

Then, to my surprise and probably hers as well, she flung her arms around my neck, pressing her body close to mine for too short a time. "Good night, Malfoy. I… had fun tonight." She smiled, and in the half-light I couldn't quite tell, but I thought that she was blushing.

I returned her smile. "So did I. And it's a pleasure, really." I paused. "So are we, like, hugging friends now?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. You started it." Then she turned on her heel and walked away. That was the night I was dead certain that I had fallen like a boulder dropped into the sea for Rose Weasley.


	6. Chapter 5: An Unlikely Seduction

**Rose**

I enjoyed leaving Scorpius in the lurch, being all mysterious and that. And the look on his face that I managed to observe via the blessing known as peripheral vision was priceless; I thought I might give that player a run for his money.

But emotion is rarely a one-way street, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get the feel of Scorpius' arms around me, the shyness in his voice as he'd asked whether we were "hugging friends." The way he smiled when he told me I was "exactly right."

It was Monday, and I had thought of him for the fiftieth time that day. Exasperated, I banged my head against the wall.

"Er… Rose? Are you all right?" the voice of Lily Potter asked. She put her hand on my shoulder.

"No. I'm dead."

She giggled. "Rose Weasley in trouble? Now _that's_ something you don't see every day."

"No, well, I'm not in trouble _now_, exactly," I said, turning around to face her. "But I—I, um—can we talk later?"

"Yeah. Prefects' bathroom, after class?"

"No!" I cried before she even finished. _The last thing I need is for Scorpius to overhear me saying I might possibly maybe just a little bit be attracted to him. He does not need more fodder for his ego, and I don't need the embarrassment._ "Anyway, you're not a prefect!"

Lily put up her hands in an appeasing gesture. "So where?"

"Umm… Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?"

Lily raised her eyebrows. "You won't talk in the prefects' bathroom but you'll let Myrtle hear your problems?"

"Well, S—the _boy_ won't be able to go in there, will he? So she can't blab."

"She's been known to hide out in the prefects' bathroom."

"So there's a fifty-fifty chance she won't be there when we talk! See you later, Lily, I have to get to class." I got about halfway down the hall by the time a particular piece of what I had said had sunk in.

"Wait—it's about a boy?" I just smirked and walked off, not bothering to answer.

I took especially good notes during Charms, because I needed something, anything to occupy my mind, which was a million miles away. Well, not a million miles. Probably, knowing Scorpius' schedule through Albus, more like two or three classrooms away.

_Damn it_, I thought, packing up, _why him? Of all people, why did I have to get (adjectives belittling the situation) attracted to him? It's certainly not love. And I know he's good-looking, so that could be it, but… I mean, a whole school of boys, and my fool heart has to pick _him_._ I sighed. _It's uncanny._

I nearly ran to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, desperate to get this off my chest and off my mind. Unfortunately, I ran into the last person I wanted to see on the way.

"You know, Weasley," he drawled, "I'm honored that you're so eager to see me, but we _do_ have Potions tomorrow. Surely you could wait till then to throw yourself into my arms?"

I gritted my teeth, exasperated and a little hurt. "If you know what's good for you, Star Boy, you'll shut your slobbering mouth before I kill you."

"Well, pardon me for assuming that I was the reason you were so flustered and hurried, as you did run straight into my chest. Whither are you going in such a hurry, then?"

I was about to give him a sharp retort when I thought of a better response. Somehow I sensed that this would goad him more than what I had been about to say. "I," I said, smirking, "am going to see Lorcan Scamander. So if you'll excuse me—"

"Wha—Lorcan? You can't be serious! He's a fucking third year!" He grabbed my wrist.

"Love has no age! And whether I'm serious is for you to decide, Malfoy. See you around." I twisted myself out of his grasp and dashed up the stairs and into Myrtle's bathroom, heart skipping beats at what I was certain was jealousy in his eyes. Lily was waiting for me, raising her eyebrows.

"I take it you saw your young swain on the way here?"

"He's not my young swain." I sighed, sliding down the door into a sitting position. "And I guess that's kind of the problem. He's _everybody's_ young swain."

"Everybody's young—who the hell is he?" Lily asked, eyes burning with curiosity.

I cleared my throat. "I, er—well, I might, just a little bit, you understand, maybe, possibly be just a tad… _attractedtoScorpiusMalfoy_."

Lily stared at me. "Scorpius Malfoy? What _exactly_ did you just say about Scorpius Malfoy?"

"I'm—I—I—_you heard what I said_!"

"No, I—"

"I said I might—oh _whatever_! I'm attracted to Scorpius fucking Malfoy!"

Moaning Myrtle chose that moment to materialize. "You're _attracted_ to Scorpius Malfoy? I mean, I don't blame you, but ooh, that's rough."

Lily blinked at me. "Oh my god. I'm—I'm sorry, Rose."

"Look, it's not like I said I was in love with him! I said I was _maybe_ attracted, but that's not the same thing!"

"Then why do you care? If it's just a passing crush?"

"I—I—I—" I was red as a beet. "Look, I am _not_ in love with Scorpius Malfoy. I _can't_ be in love with Scorpius Malfoy."

"Why not?"

I spluttered, horrified at the suggestion. "Because—I mean—obvious reasons, okay? Our parents hate each other. The fact that I'm a Gryffindor and he's a Slytherin. The fact that he has probably slept with half of the girls in this school, and will doubtless sleep with the other half over the course of his final two years here. And the fact that we're constantly at each other's throats!"

"I can think of zillions of ways to fix those problems," said Lily, waggling her eyebrows.

"Oh god, Lily, no…"

"Rose, are you in love with him?"

I took a few breaths. I thought of his arms around me, his laugh, all the cliché things that one notices about one's love. And I thought of other things, too. The way he looked when he was boiling with rage, and how he looked when he was bored—a montage of all his moods and habits and little quirks. _Shit, how did I _notice_ all of that? Either I'm really observant or…_ "Oh my fucking god."

Lily _and_ Myrtle grinned. "Having a life-changing realization? Namely, that you have the hots for Scorpius Malfoy?"

I put my head between my knees. "Ohh, what am I going to do?"

"Seduce him! Beat him at his own game!"

I looked up at Lily, horrified. "_What_ did you just say?"

"Seduce him. Put the moves on him. Use your womanly wiles!"

"I don't _have_ womanly wiles!"

"Sure you do, Rosie! What was that self-satisfied smirk on your face when you came in?"

"Oh—well—I just—I told him that I was going to see Lorcan instead of talking to you."

Lily's mouth dropped open. "Rose Weasley toyed with someone! With a _boy_!"

I waved a hand, annoyed. "Yes, yes, what's so important about that?"

"So you can do it! You can have that boy wrapped around your finger!"

I went an astonishing shade of cerise, and cursed my father for passing the Weasley blush on to me. "I mean, I don't know… Scorpius Malfoy? Really? The playboy of all playboys?"

"Sure, Rose! And I'll help you!"

Myrtle looked excited. "Oh, let me help!"

I sighed. "I guess I'll need all the help I can get." Those ten words probably qualify as the most regrettable utterance I have ever said in my life.


	7. Chapter 6: Rip the Mask From Your Face

**Scorpius**

I walked into Potions and my heart stopped. I clutched the desk nearest to me. _Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit._ Rose looked like a goddess, her red curls bound up in a messy bun. Her lips shone, just begging to be kissed. And I couldn't even see the shirt under her robe. _If she's wearing one. Oh god._ My palms started to sweat.

"So, um—are you, uh, seeing Lorcan today?" I asked her weakly.

She looked at me and I thought I was going to die. "Maybe," she said sultrily, "and maybe not."

"So, er, am I tutoring you today?" I had never felt so awkward around a girl. I kept wiping my hands on my pants and licking my lips.

"Well…" she seemed to think about it.

_Oh god, say something, say _anything, I thought desperately.

"I do need to pass those O.W.L.s."

"Uh, okay," I said, still dumbfounded and not wanting to leave. "Um, Rose—are you wearing makeup?"

She shrugged.

"Rose, I, uh—you're acting kind of… different. Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm better than all right, Scorpius. I'm in love."

_Oh shit. Oh my fucking god. Not Lorcan. _Please_ not Lorcan. Anyone but Lorcan fucking Scamander the third year! Jesus!_ "R-really. Care to tell me with—"

"_Scorpius Malfoy, sit down _now_!_"

I scrabbled over to my seat, my heart hammering in protest. I was jumpy and jittery throughout the rest of class. _She said she's in love… But she can't be in love with Lorcan Scamander! That's ridiculous!_ I sighed, leaning back in my chair. _But then, so is the idea of her being in love with me._ I continued along this circular train of thought until I finally decided that I had to talk to her after class. I packed up quickly so that I was sure that I'd get to speak to her and find out what _exactly_ was going on. I lounged around until I saw red hair bobbing out the door, then dashed after her.

"Rose!"

She turned, and for a second I saw the old Rose, the real Rose, in her eyes. But then the seductive mask slipped over them and she said with a sigh, "Yes, Scorpius?"

"I need to talk to you. Alone," I said. I was confused and aroused and uncomfortable and anxious. I hated it, but I loved it, but I hated it, but I… _oh my god, what is that _look_ in Rose Weasley's eyes that I have never seen before? She's changed overnight! And I'm not at all sure I like it…_

"Sure, Malfoy. I'm sure you have a lot of questions." She smiled. "Now, or later?"

"Er—now would be preferable, but we have class—" I sighed. "No. This can't wait. I'm sorry, Rose, and you can lay the blame on me entirely once we do get to class." There was confusion in her eyes.

I looked about. The hall was clear. I took a deep breath and pulled her to me. "Rose," I said intensely, like that name was my only lifeline, "Rose, what the fuck is going on?"

"What do you mean, what's going on?" Her arms were around my waist, and I knew that they belonged there. My breath caught.

"I—I mean, what's this about Lorcan? And what's with the makeup? Your whole manner has changed, and I'm worried about you."

"Why are you worried?" There was a bit of the new Rose in there, but I could feel _my_ Rose in there, the one who was confident and strong and smart and not afraid to tell me I was a hormonal, irresponsible prat but also not afraid to tell me that she had fun doing Potions homework with me, of all things, in the library that night. I realized that I loved that undercurrent, that beautiful girl now hiding under this façade, and that while I was attracted to the new Rose, I was deeply and desperately in love with the old one.

"Do you love Lorcan?" I stroked her hair. "I'm not asking you to tell me who it is if you don't, because that can be hard, but I just need to know it's not Lorcan."

She sighed my Rose's sigh. "It's not Lorcan."

"All right. Because that would be cradle-robbing, you know," I teased gently, tugging a piece of hair out of her bun and playing with it. I took a breath. "I'm worried because I'm afraid that you're changing yourself for this new guy, whoever he is. And no matter what, no one is worth improving upon perfection." I tilted her chin up so that she was looking at me. "If you want to change what's on the outside, and it's entirely your choice, feel absolutely free to do so with my deepest approval. But for god's sake, don't—please, Rose, stay the way you are on the inside. I know I don't have any right to ask you to do that, but please." _I love you._

She stood still and silent in my arms for a while. Then her hands moved swiftly up my chest to tightly embrace my neck. She just held me hard for a while, and I held her with equal strength, knowing that somehow, it was okay. Then she said in my ear, "You have every right to ask that of me, Scorpius Malfoy. More than you know." She let go, and my hands reluctantly removed themselves from her. Her eyes were shining with tears.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, fingers brushing her cheek worriedly.

Her breathing was erratic. "No. Oh my god, no. It's just—I—" she raised a hand and placed it on my left cheekbone. I held my breath. Slowly, my Rose let her fingers run down my cheek in burning lines that would be tattooed there forever. "Tonight," she said, "we'll study for Potions. And then we're going to have a long talk."

"Okay. So start earlier this time?"

Rose winced—_my Rose_, I thought triumphantly, _so my words moved her!_—and said dryly, "Actually, I was shooting for ending earlier."

"Mm. Maybe. If you're really nice."

Rose rolled her eyes. "You're incorrigible."

"And glad of it." I thought a moment. "We'll meet at the same time as usual."

She nodded, smiled, and then studied me a while. "So I can blame you for being late to class? What do I say?"

I smiled, then leaned in, putting my lips close to her ear. "Say," I breathed, "that we were having an argument."


	8. Chapter 7: Actions Speak Louder

**Rose**

My heart fluttered and I felt like skipping through the halls. Scorpius Malfoy had been _worried_! About me! He said that I shouldn't let someone change me. That I was… perfect.

God, I loved him. It was easy to see it now, in ways it hadn't been before. The way we'd taunted each other had never been out of dislike. I realized that neither of us had ever said anything with true intent to hurt the other. It was a game for us, even if it was a game that sometimes ended in tears. My stomach was tight. _I'm in love, I'm in love, and even if my parents and my House disown me, I wouldn't care if I had him._

I dashed into the bathroom before class and wiped off all of the makeup. As I did, I remembered the breathy way he'd said, "_Say that we were having an argument._" My whole body tingled.

"Why are you taking off all the makeup Lily put on so nicely?" asked a slightly whiny voice.

_Oh god_, I thought, _Myrtle. Great._ But the mood I was in made me want to stand at the top of the Astronomy Tower and scream, "I'm in love with Scorpius Malfoy, and there is _nothing_ anyone can do about it!" So I was eager to tell her of what had transpired after Potions. I didn't really want to disclose the entire story to Myrtle, however, so I just said, "Well, Mr. Malfoy had occasion to tell me that he liked me better without it."

"Ooh, what a charmer!" Myrtle cried. "I met his father, you know. Charming boys, both of them. And _so_ handsome."

I was about to make a sharp retort when I realized that this was Moaning Myrtle and that no matter how crazily, sweetly, impossibly in love I was, I had no business being jealous of a ghost. "Yes, he's handsome," was what I tried to leave it at, but I ended up adding on, "and sweet and smart and observant and funny." I bit my tongue. _Come on, Rose. You're embarrassing yourself._ But the mere thought of Scorpius be-still-my-heart Malfoy seemed to send tremors up my spine and pangs of sweet-sick desire to the pit of my stomach.

I ended up missing class entirely. I hoped no one would notice, as my prefect status might be revoked. But maybe I could…

I cast a time-checking spell, and realized that if I didn't get my rear in gear and out of there, I'd be late to my next class.

I made my way through the day somehow, and puttered furiously in my room until it was time to meet Scorpius. I made myself walk to the library, but it was hard. _Damn it, Rose, calm down!_

Scorpius was at the door in the library, lounging against it casually. He smiled wide when he saw me. "Hi, Rosie."

"Don't call me that."

He took my hand, twined my fingers with his. He dragged me a bit closer and pulled me into a hug. "Now can I call you that?" he murmured into my hair.

"No."

"Damn stubborn Weasleys."

"Damn hormonal Malfoys."

"Oh, shush. You like it."

"Mr. Malfoy! Ms. Weasley!"

"Oh fuck." We pulled apart and speed-walked towards our table. The librarian followed and watched for a while as we got out our things. Scorpius laid out a list of ingredients and I began to translate. However, the librarian didn't leave.

"Funny," Scorpius whispered in my ear, "I never figured her for a voyeur."

"We're not doing anything."

"Meh. Well." He dropped his hand from its position resting on the back of my chair and let it stay in a comfortable position on the small of my back. "You almost done?"

"Yeah. But what's 'shining thread of attraction?' "

"Veela hair."

I frowned. "That's cheating. It's really ambiguous! Could be anything."

"Could be your hair," he said, brushing some away from my face with a smile. I blushed. "But then again, as prolific as Weasley children tend to be, it's too rare to be used in too many potions. And veelas are said to be the most beautiful—attractive—creatures in the wizarding world."

I tried to finish my work as quickly as possible, but Scorpius wasn't satisfied until around nine-thirty, at which point he said, "So, pack up and then long talk?"

I laughed. "Sure." I finished within a minute, heart hammering.

Scorpius saw me just sitting there, confused at the fact that I wasn't cleaning up, then grinned when he saw that I already had. "Damn, Rose, you're fast," he said, and finished putting his things away soon after.

"Okay," he said, turning to face me. "So—"

"Actions speak louder than words," I murmured, cutting him off. Then I tugged his tie, pulling him towards me, and kissed him.

As I'd expected, he responded quickly. His hands cupped my face, turning my head slightly to deepen the kiss. He slowly and deliberately dragged his tongue across my lower lip. I let him in, moaning into his mouth. _He's a _really_ good kisser…_

One of his hands started to wander, and my own charted the unknown territory of his chest.

"Rose…" he said into my mouth, breathing raggedly. He broke the kiss, much to my dismay, and said, "I love you. Always have."

"I'm really annoyed at you. I can't believe you made me fall in love with you too, shithead." He laughed and I crawled onto his lap, kissing him again.

"Oh, Rose. You don't know what you do to me…"

Unconsciously, I started unbuttoning his shirt. "We're going to have our prefect statuses revoked."

"It might be worth it to scare the shit out of the librarian," he muttered into my neck. He started to suck and nibble at the skin there. I winced. _That's gonna leave a mark._ I decided that I wanted to make his stomach turn the way mine was and started nibbling at his earlobe.

"Where in the name of the jumping frogs of hell did you learn all this?" he gasped, bringing his lips back to mine.

"You know us hot-tempered Weasleys. We can be very… passionate," was all I said, smiling against his demanding lips.

We kept kissing for another ten minutes. Either we had extraordinary luck, or the librarian had gone out, because she didn't interrupt us. But when I felt Scorpius' hands fumbling with the buttons on my shirt, I pulled back. "Wait. We shouldn't do this here."

Scorpius looked up at me with lust-clouded eyes. "Are we going to—? You don't have to if you don't want to. And we do have school tomorrow."

I leaned against him again, just lying there on his chest, my arms loosely connected around his waist. "I don't know. I don't want to leave you, but I—I'm not sure I want to make love… I mean, it just seems so fast, and—"

His hand went to my hair, stroking it. "Shh. That's fine. I'll wait. Want to come up to my room anyway?"

"Yes."


	9. Epilogue: Stargazing and Blond Babies

**Scorpius**

It had been a week since that sweet kissing session in the library. Our relationship was still a secret from everyone except Lily Potter and Moaning Myrtle. We knew we'd have to tell everyone soon. Every time some guy even looked at Rose, I had the desire to punch his lights out. But Rose calmed me, put a hand on my shoulder, looked up at me with those loving blue eyes, and then kissed me breathless as soon as we were alone. We had fights still, but they weren't serious and were mostly for the benefit of everyone who knew us, so that they wouldn't suspect that their favorite prefects were playing tonsil hockey in the prefects' bathroom, on the Quidditch Pitch on a rainy day (an inspired idea of Rose's; that was the second time we came really close to sleeping together), anywhere we could.

I had "borrowed" Albus Severus's cloak of invisibility, muttering the Gryffindor password to the Fat Lady. She obviously thoroughly disapproved, but she was a portrait and I had a beautiful girlfriend waiting for me, so on the whole I wasn't too concerned with what she thought.

I crept carefully up the stairs to the girls' dorms of Gryffindor House. I knocked three times, paused, then knocked twice on Rose's door. As soon as she opened the door, I tugged her under the invisibility cloak, and we kissed like mad as quietly as we could.

"How are we going to get to Hogwarts Lake from here without making any noise?" Rose whispered against my neck.

"Very simply. _Accio_ Nimbus." My broom flew into my hand. "Get on."

"We're not going to fly out the window, are we?"

I smiled, gazing at the large window set in the wall to my right. "Spot on, Rose."

"But—"

I hoisted her onto the broom and then got on in front of her. "Hold on."

She did for dear life, yelling happily as we flew through the night air. I let her, although I knew it probably wasn't a good idea—we didn't want to get discovered.

We landed on the edge of Hogwarts Lake. The giant squid was dormant, probably floating around at the bottom of the lake. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Rose jumped off the broom and leapt on me, kissing me enthusiastically.

"Ouch! Careful—I'm breakable, babe," I said laughingly against her mouth, kissing her back.

"Not that breakable," she muttered back. She sighed, passion expended for the moment, and twined her arms around my neck. I started rubbing her back in smooth, gentle circles. We lay there, staring up at the stars. I knew then that I was going to marry Rose Weasley, and give her outrageous, rude, platinum blond babies named after constellations. I told her so, and she laughed.

**The End**


	10. End Note

**End Note**

So what did you think of the ending? Of the story as a whole? Please review :D and you're welcome to check out my other stories, _We're Not_ and _Rachael Coy and the Good Slytherin_. I hope you enjoyed this fic as much as I did.

Love,

Elena


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